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Category Archives: nail varnish

I’m trying to replace all my products at the moment – make-up, nail varnishes, beauty and cosmetics, with vegan friendly brands and products, however this takes time and money, so every now and again I’ll be reviewing and showing you the vegan friendly finds for everyday life.

Hence, today’s Vegan Friendly Finds – Body Shop Aloe Vera Products!

Yesterday I was paid – YAAAAY! So I treated myself to a beauty haul.

I have sensitive skin (the curse of being ginger) so Aloe Vera products are the best range for me. They’ve got a buy two get one free on at the moment too!

I picked up an Aloe soothing day cream, gentle foaming face wash and deodorant.

Body Shop are a well known for being ethical. Not only do they not test on animals, but all their products are 100% Vegetarian.

They have a policy on products that do contain animals which you can see below – or HERE

So all you need to look out for is Honey, Beeswax, Lanolin & Shellac in the ingredients to find out if you can use it or not.

You can find their brand values on testing on animals HERE.The body Shop itself does not test on animals, however it falls in a grey area for some people as it was acquired by L’Oreal in 2006, and although The Body Shop still does not test its products on animals, L’Oreal does.

Obviously this is an issue, however I personally feel that having such a resource to vegan beauty products on the high street can only be good. Body Shop is a massive brand! ( I bought my products yesterday in a mall in Doha in the Middle East!) so many consumers are unintentionally buying and supporting the cause, and the more this happens the more companies will see profit in this and change their products.

Ok! Now that the credentials are over with, let’s get on with this bad boy!

The Aloe Soothing Day Cream – I cant live without this product! I’ve been using it since around 2012 and as soon as it runs out I grab another.

I hate moisturisers that leave you feeling greasy and shiny, however with this light, creamy, day cream I can pop it on, on my way to work knowing it would have 100% sunk in in the 20 minutes it takes to get me there.

Its marketed to have gentle hydration, leaves skin soft and smooth, fragrance, colour and alcohol-free and has no added preservatives. All of this can only be good!

Don’t get the night cream however! Although its effectively the same thing, its thicker, so unless you’re going to put it on at night before bed and no other time, you end up looking like a shiny bauble.

I used this for the first time last night – and I picked this product for the specific reason that it says it removes make-up.

As we went for a lovely picnic yesterday in the Aspire Park in Doha, I wanted to look like a 50’s dreamboat so put on a nice dress and make-up. Here I am at the end of the very long day.

As you can see my make-up routine involves a LOT of black eyeliner so this product will be put to the test!

Firstly – the foamy wash is great, just splash your face with water, pump the foam into your hands – you get a generous amount with one pump – then… Well… Wash your face!

I scrubbed really well, but unfortunately it didn’t get rid of my make-up and made my towel do a sad owl face.

In the end I gave up and used a wet wipe, but I suspect for those of you who don’t base their look on Alice Cooper, this will work just fine. (P.S I’ve used it since the make-up experience, and it works really well on a day to day basis and leaves you feeling clean and refreshed.)

The Aloe Anti-Perspirant Deodorant – I’m not a massively sweaty or smelly person. Not because I’m perfect, but mostly because I don’t do a lot! I’m not a runner, and I certainly don’t go out in the mid day Emirate sun, so although it is very hot, I’m mostly air conditioned.

Saying that, knowing you aren’t going to smell is always a plus, and due to the heat, having something that will cool and soothe would be nice.

This deodorant doesn’t smell, isn’t perfumed at all, and the two days I’ve used it hasn’t made me any less smelly. What is does do however is exactly what I wanted it to, which is to moisturise and cool your armpits.

I’m finding it hard to review as I’m sure many people will effectively say it doesn’t work, as it does not hide the smell of your sweat. What it does do however is cool and soothe your armpits so you shouldn’t sweat as much.

Basically, if your doing something sweaty, I suggest you use something more protective, but for me this is brilliant, inoffensive and protecting.

Ok so did you know nail varnish wasn’t vegan? Because I didn’t! It’s not even vegetarian!

Obviously anything that tests on animals should be avoided wherever possible but apparently most shiny – or metallic nail varnishes have animal and bug products in them. Ewwww!

The only bugs I want on my nails are super cute ones, like this:

*please note: this is not my photo

This is a problem for me as I am a big fan of getting manicures, so now I have to take either my own cruelty free polish with me, or google the polish they use whilst there – which kind of takes away the relaxation of it all.

This has always been my favourite thing to put on my nails, and now we know its in the cruelty free section, we should all celebrate with a coat of this dazzling, delectable decadence.

First lets look at the results. Then I’ll show you the company’s policy’s (a little bit of bling, then a little bit of a vegan win – ok not my best rhyme, but you find something to go with bling!)

It makes me feel like I’m wearing Dorothy’s ruby red slippers on my hands. Therefore, it is the best polish ever.

Please note – you will need to add two coats to cover the whole of your nails, I tend to find that because its so glittery and thick, it chips, but equally because it doesn’t show brush strokes, you can easily fill in the chipped gap with the polish during your day, perfect if you’re not a dainty housewife who never chips a nail.

The results are great, and at £2.99 its a bargain – So now the company –

Since our foundation in 1982, Barry M has never tested our finished products or ingredients on animals or engaged another company to do so on our behalf. All companies in our supply chain must provide us with an annual written assurance that no product or ingredient used in Barry M products has been newly animal tested by them after our fixed cut-off date. Our strict policy means that within our company and our supply chain, we do not tolerate cosmetics animal testing.

Through working with HSI, we have now gone one step further and pledged not to permit our products to be sold in countries such as China whilst they require additional new animal testing. We have also pledged not to use new ingredients that become available in the future unless their safety can be assessed entirely without animal testing.

All of our products are suitable for vegetarians, but some do contain animal by-products (like Beeswax), making them unsuitable for vegans. Ranges of products not suitable for Vegans are Natural Dazzle Bronzer, Super Soft Eye Crayons, Blusher Brush & Eye Brush.

All VEGAN friendly products have a V symbol included on the drop down list of ingredients. You can find these on each product page entitled “View Product Ingredients”

Best of all Barry M is a global brand, that not only makes nail varnishes, but makeup! So you can now check out what other products are Vegan on their website, so that when your shopping you can pick one up HERE –

I dunno about you, but I’m going to be googling and disposing of a lot of my collection of varnishes in the next few days, and picking up some new, animal free sparkly ones! YAY! X